[CR]How to improve your popularity in the bike buyer market, ethics of buying: lesson one.

(Example: Production Builders:Peugeot)

Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:53:33 +0100 (CET)
From: "Nick March" <nicbordeaux@yahoo.fr>
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: [CR]How to improve your popularity in the bike buyer market, ethics of buying: lesson one.

I scan the listings on ebay a few times a day, likewise some other sites. I keep an ear to the ground, I have a signpost outside my place saying I like old bikes (this is going, I'm tired of driving 20 totally irrecoverable MTB wrecks to the dump every week), I am building a network with the scrap metal merchants, you know the tune: you want bikes at ground level, you have to work at it.

I see a good, valuable bike at a scrapyard about to be crushed, I have no scruples in buying it at 5-10 euros even though it's worth 250-500-1000. I see a bike in some unsavoury place where the "free house clearing service" boys get rich "robbing"" old people and selling, it's 50 euros and worth 500, don't count on me to tell the monkeys that they haven't done me over, it's me swindling them. But if I come across an old lady has a bike belonged to her deceased husband back in 1960, it's a good'un, count me out on the 'I'll take it away for 20 euros Madame, these things are impossible to sell you know, new MTB's are only 75 euros down the mall and boy, I'm really sorry about your husband and by the way did he have any of those old canvas bags with this 'cause I can always use a bit of cloth to repair another set..." It's a very difficult choice to make, I'm no saint, but there are limits to what a person can live with doing.

There's still stuff on ebay if you're fast. I'm not telling you my tricks, but I pull a few. I have competition. And then there's the animals, the guy's who stop at nothing. Let's talk sales: somebody on the list pointed out a apparant rogue seller who was cheating badly, misdescribing, reassembling and passing as original, you name it. That's one in how many ? Other day I saw a listing for a NOS saddle with a NOS/NIB title and a load of bull (yes, please make my day, sue me !) about the rivets being typical of the only hand made saddles. Those rivets spell recent or recover, don't ask me. The NIB was sad: a plastic bag carrying a model number which corresponds to a 1980's suede saddle. Not a day I don't see some online auction scam. It's etheral, it's virtual, there's no law, it's highway robber's paradise

Buying: time to time a Herse or else comes up on ebay at 5-10-15 euros, you name it. The boys are onto it immediately, send question, obtain seller's phone, locate house through reverse directory, turn up at house with 50-150 euros in cash and disapear. A short while back one appeared with pic on ebay which said "belonged to my husband, was considered a nice bike years ago". Photo of nice Herse, full original. Starting price ? 25 euros. I saw it after it'd been online three hours. Sent the widow a mail via ebay saying, basically: Madame, that bike is worth at least 1500 euros, please be careful of cash offers, I will guaranty you to the tune of 1500 euros, the bike doesn't sell I'll take it. It will go for 1500, likely 2500-3000. Don't let it go to cash offers under 4000 unless you need 3000 in immediate money for food. The lady wrote back about her husband and how he treasured it, she had no idea it was worth money. She'd already someone with her at the place with 500 on the table when I mailed her. Don't tell me the guy didn't know what he was doing. Before that, she'd had cash offers from 50 through 150 euros.

So, I have outed myself as a spoiler of fair robbery. I guess that's going to make me even more popular than I already am in the collecting fraternity. Maybe they get together and put a contract on my name ?

The point isn't me look at what a nice guy I am (because I'm not), if this is all first person stuff, it's because before making accusations, I need proof, and that only comes through first hand experience.

You know another buy trick over here ? There's a whole load of doubtful characters put ads on the smaller auction sites that go "I been unemployed for 5 years and I have a family to feed I don't got no car so if someone has an old bike like Rene Herse or Alex Singer to give me..". I got a little pissed off by that (sorry Dale), so I put my own bogus ads on, both types. One went "For Sale my husbands bike Bene Herse please make an offer" and that was a real success, I can't tell you how popular I got, some most unexpected people wrote in with dumb offers. The other was reverse: "I inherited a Rene Herse when I was young, but I was stupid 'n I wrecked it and now I'd like to make amends to my Grandfather's memory so if you have a old Rene Herse bicycle I'd appreciate it realy I would". And this is where it get's sadder still but in a funny way because all the "competition" sent in love mail saying "sure we give you a RH-a, jus-a tell us who you are and where you live-a". Gave me an idea of who's who.

But that's not all: a guy wrote in saying "I have what you want, contact me". So I mailed him back from a secondary address asking for a pic and a price, signed just N. Back came an email with a pic of a Herse looked like someone had repainted it with a cleaning mop, and a message which went: tell me your name and where you live. I inquired as to who this guy was, and the unanimous reply was "careful, he's a bigwig in cyclotouring officialdom". I asked him to name his price: 1300 euros. I felt this was a fair price for a mop job and told him (both serious, and playing along) that my name was Nick March and yes, I would buy at 1300. I had my paypal rearing to go. It happens that this guy has been foulmouthing (I have several statements to this effect in writing) my family in FFCT circles for a while, putting out the WORD. And you'll never guess, he called me a liar and a thief in writing, said the whole March family were thieves and liars, and said he'd confront me. So he's thrown the glove, and I challenge him to a duel during which I shall publicly flagellate him with a limp banana skin. The funny part is I googled the image and found it at several locations, including CR. So in effect, a bigwig has attempted to sell me with fraudulent intent a bicycle which he doesn't own, to the tune of 1300 euros. It's Mike Kone's green Herse. Sorry about the mop job Mr Kone, the pic I got wasn't too good.

So the point is it's a vicious, dirty, back-stabbing world out there in Rene Herse territory, and I think that you wan't to be very careful who you buy from. You want to be careful about almost anything on ebay I guess. Go for the reputable, established dealers. I don't always see eye to eye with them, but in Herse territory, you're safe with RH Classics. Probably a few others. I wouldn' know, I avoid the dealers and the collectors here like the plague. Especially now I know who's who.

Nick March Agen, 47, Aquitaine, France

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